Plant Pathology is the study of plant diseases caused by pathogens and environmental factors; it involves study in mycology, bacteriology, nematology, virology, disease physiology and biochemistry, molecular biology of host-parasite relationships, etiology, ecology and epidemiology of plant diseases, disease resistance, and integrated disease management using cultural, chemical, biological and and biotechnological approaches. Because of its broad mission, the Department of Plant Pathology has strong interrelationships with all other plant- and biology-oriented departments and commodity groups within the state and nationally and internationally.